Beautiful Virgin Islands

Wednesday, Sep 03, 2025

That guy yelling during the antitrust hearing this week? Google funds him

In the antitrust hearing this week, Rep. Jim Jordan hectored Google CEO Sundar Pichai about rigging search results to help Democrats and hurt conservatives. Who would have known that Jordan is Pichai’s beneficiary?

When the House Judiciary’s antitrust subcommittee hosted the big tech CEOs earlier this week, the hearing veered off into chaos several times. Each time it was caused by the hysterics of the GOP’s resident attack dog, Jim Jordan of Ohio.

Jordan had no obvious understanding of, or interest in, tech antitrust issues, but used his time to harangue the CEOs about their companies’ alleged censorship of conservative viewpoints (an old saw that shows up every time Congress talks to tech)—particularly Google.

While questioning Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Jordan accused Google of siding with the World Health Organization over the American people, of backing Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election, and generally stifling conservatives’ access to information online.

It was a surprising stance from the Congressman, given that Google gave $10,000 to the man’s reelection campaign in 2020, and has been funding him every cycle going back to 2012, according to Federal Election Commission filings. In this hearing, the attack dog truly bit the hand that was feeding him.

Despite this, Jordan demanded a commitment from Pichai that Google would not “configure its search engine” to back Joe Biden in the election, and that Google would not use its search engine to silence conservatives.

The real fireworks started when Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon (D-PA) who spoke just after Jordan, said, “Ladies and gentlemen, I’d like to redirect your attention to antitrust law rather than fringe conspiracy theories.” Then Jordan exploded, demanding to address the jab from his colleague. He yelled, he waved his arms, he refused to put his mask back on and be quiet. (Google, by the way, contributed just $2,000 to Scanlon’s reelection campaign.)

Google’s contributions to Jordan’s reelection campaign are also noteworthy because of recent news about the Congressman. Jordan has been accused of turning a blind eye to the sexual abuse of student wrestlers during his time as an assistant wrestling coach at Ohio State University in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The allegations have earned Jordan his oft-used “Gym Jordan” moniker on social media.

Google didn’t immediately respond to the question of whether or not it intended to continue funding Jordan.

The antitrust subcommittee has been investigating the big tech companies for more than a year now, as have the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission. But that hasn’t stopped some tech companies from continuing to give to the campaigns of Congresspeople, including some on the antitrust subcommittee. The following chart shows the donations the big five tech companies have made to the 2020 reelection campaigns for each member of the House antitrust subcommittee.




For the 2020 election, Google donated to committee vice chair Joe Neguse (D-CO), Judiciary Committee chair Jerry Nadler (D-NY), Ken Buck (R-CO), W. Gregory Steube (R-FL), Hank Johnson (D-GA), and Mary Gay Scanlon (D-PA). Ranking Republican member Jim Sensenbrenner is retiring from Congress, but Google donated to each of his Congressional campaigns dating back to 2008. None of this money stopped Google from having to face hard questions about its monopoly power during Wednesday’s hearing.

Google isn’t the only big tech company donated to Congresspeople on the subcommittee. Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, and Facebook have all made campaign contributions to at least one subcommittee member for the 2020 election cycle. Both Google and Microsoft have donated to seven different Congresspeople who’ve been actively investigating anti-competitive practices.

Campaign donations are just part of a multi-pronged strategy big tech companies use to influence policy in the Capital. They also fund think tanks, some of which devise policy proposals for better ways to regulate competitive markets. Even though the antitrust committee members may end up writing new laws that directly affect the businesses of big tech companies, there’s nothing illegal about the campaign contributions. It’s how the system works.

For the tech companies, the dollar amounts of the campaign donations are small potatoes considering how much they make every quarter. There’s a symbolic value to them. The donations don’t buy easy treatment from lawmakers, and they don’t prevent the adoption of broadly-supported regulations, but they can cause the voices of the donors to be heard more clearly in the midst of the debate.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Germany in Turmoil: Ukrainian Teenage Girl Pushed to Death by Illegal Iraqi Migrant
United Krack down on human rights: Graham Linehan Arrested at Heathrow Over Three X Posts, Hospitalised, Released on Bail with Posting Ban
Asian and Middle Eastern Investors Avoid US Markets
Ray Dalio Warns of US Shift to Autocracy
Eurozone Inflation Rises to 2.1% in August
Russia and China Sign New Gas Pipeline Deal
China's Robotics Industry Fuels Export Surge
Suntory Chairman Resigns After Police Probe
Gold Price Hits New All-Time Record
Von der Leyen's Plane Hit by Suspected Russian GPS Interference in an Incident Believed to Be Caused by Russia or by Pro-Peace or by Anti-Corruption European Activists
UK Fintechs Explore Buying US Banks
Greece Suspends 5% of Schools as Birth Rate Drops
Apollo to Launch $5 Billion Sports Investment Vehicle
Bolsonaro Trial Nears Close Amid US-Brazil Tension
European Banks Push for Lower Cross-Border Barriers
Poland's Offshore Wind Sector Attracts Investors
Nvidia Reveals: Two Mystery Customers Account for About 40% of Revenue
Woody Allen: "I Would Be Happy to Direct Trump Again in a Film"
Pickles are the latest craze among Generation Z in the United States.
Deadline Day Delivers Record £125m Isak Move and Donnarumma to City
Nestlé Removes CEO Laurent Freixe Following Undisclosed Relationship with Subordinate
Giuliani Seriously Injured in Accident – Trump to Award Him the Presidential Medal of Freedom
EU is getting aggressive: Four AfD Candidates Die Unexpectedly Ahead of North Rhine-Westphalia Local Elections
Lula and Putin Hold Strategic BRICS Discussions Ahead of Trump–Putin Summit
WhatsApp is rolling out a feature that looks a lot like Telegram.
Investigations Reveal Rise in ‘Sex-for-Rent’ Listings Across Canada Exploiting Vulnerable Tenants
Chinese and Indian Leaders Pursue Amity Amid Global Shifts
European Union Plans for Ukraine Deployment
ECB Warns Against Inflation Complacency
Concerns Over North Cyprus Casino Development
Shipping Companies Look Beyond Chinese Finance
Rural Exodus Fueling European Wildfires
China Hosts Major Security Meeting
Chinese Police Successfully Recover Family's Savings from Livestream Purchases
Germany Marks a Decade Since Migrant Wave with Divisions, Success Stories, and Political Shifts
Liverpool Defeat Arsenal 1–0 with Szoboszlai Free-Kick to Stay Top of Premier League
Prince Harry and King Charles to Meet in First Reunion After 20 Months
Chinese Stock Market Rally Fueled by Domestic Investors
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
Ukrainian Nationalist Politician Andriy Parubiy Assassinated in Lviv
Corporate America Cuts Middle Management as Bosses Take On Triple the Workload
Parents Sue OpenAI After Teen’s Death, Alleging ChatGPT Encouraged Suicide
Amazon Faces Lawsuit Over 'Buy' Label on Digital Streaming Content
Federal Reserve Independence Questioned Amid Trump’s Push to Reshape Central Bank
British Politics Faces Tumultuous Autumn After Summer of Rebellions and Rising Farage Momentum
US Appeals Court Rules Against Most Trump-Era Tariffs
UK Sought Broad Access to Apple Users’ Data, Court Filing Reveals
UK Bank Shares Dive Over Potential Tax on Sector
Germany’s Auto Industry Sheds 51,500 Jobs in First Half of 2025 Amid Deepening Crisis
Bruce Willis Relocated Due to Advanced Dementia
×